Effective Tuesday, September 3, 2013, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will complete the transition to an electronic system for receiving immigrant visa applications. Currently, certain immigrant visa applicants in some countries, including any U.S. embassy or consulate in Mexico, or in Lima, Peru, must use the DS-260 form.
Individuals applying for an immigrant visa must complete form DS-260 (Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration) online. They must also choose their agent using the electronic form DS-261 (Election of Address and Representative).
Both electronic forms replace the paper forms DS-230 and DS-3032.
The National Visa Center (NVC) may require some applicants who have previously submitted the DS-230 form to submit the DS-260 form. Only persons applying for Diversity Visas and Cubans who are applying for benefits under the Cuban Family Reunification Parole program will continue to use the paper forms.
The new electronic forms will be available at ceac.state.gov.
According to DOS, the use of electronic forms is to make the process more secure and efficient.
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